Good Practices for More Affordable Housing in the EU

Those most affected include low-income households, single parents, senior citizens, and individuals living alone.

The causes of this housing crisis are complex. Soaring land, construction, and financing costs have made new housing developments increasingly difficult. At the same time, speculative investments based on continuous increases in value is contributing to a further exacerbation of the crisis on European real estate markets. At the same time most countries have underinvested in affordable housing—including social, municipal, and non-profit housing—which has contributed to the crisis.

In addition, theclimate change poses further immense challenges for European societies in terms of renovating their building stock and heating it. Solutions must be found quickly to enable affordable, socially inclusive, and climate-friendly housing for all.

Despite differing housing systems across Europe—some with high rates of homeownership, others with strong rental sectors—all countries hold valuable experience. In this project, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung highlights functioning instruments and projects that can serve as inspiration across national borders. One example is Denmark’s private non-profit housing model that is designed to provide long-term affordability and social stability. Housing associations operate as self-governed entities, ensuring that surpluses are reinvested into maintenance and new developments rather than distributed as profit. A crucial component of this system is the National Building Fund (Landsbyggefonden), which secures financial support for renovations and new housing projects, contributing to the model’s sustainability over time.

This work is part of the ongoing FES project "Affordable Housing: Best Practices from around Europe."

To read the full analysis from Denmark, click here  To explore the other country case studies in this project, visit our project homepage